Ilia Topuria has had enough of Paddy Pimblett and is finally ready to settle their beef inside of the cage.
In case you didn’t remember, Topuria has already vacated his UFC featherweight title and is booked to fight Charles Oliveira for the vacant 155-pound strap later this month at UFC 317 in Las Vegas, Nevada, for International Fight Week. That means that Topuria and Pimblett are finally competing in the same weight class and in line for a potential matchup down the line, especially if both lightweights continue to win.
Over the past couple of years the two fighters have forged a rivalry that has seen no end. They nearly came to blows at a UFC London hotel back in 2022 and they’ve been throwing shade at one another ever since. Pimblett and Topuria did share a brief fist bump earlier this year during a cordial weigh ins, but that sign of respect only lasted so long.
Earlier this week, Topuria sat down with ESPN Deportes to discuss his upcoming title fight at UFC 317 and a laundry list of other topics. One was a potential grudge match against Pimblett and Topuria was quick to shred him apart. Check it out below:
“He’s a hypocrite,” said Topuria. “I’ll tell you, I remember we shared a press conference once, and he said something like ‘I’m fighting in the main card and you’re on the prelims.’ Now I’m thinking, I have two belts. Where are you? Who the f—k is Paddy Pimblett right now? And why would he deserve to fight me right now?
“Honestly, if I could choose a fight, I would fight him because I hate him.”
“He’s a pain in the ass,” Topuria continued. “I’d love to give that fight to the fans. Because for a long time, I believe that in the UFC you haven’t seen a real fight. Two people who really want to fight each other, and what better way than to fight in front of everyone and put on a show. I know what’s going to happen, and it won’t be good for him.”
What do you think, Maniacs? Is Topuria vs. Pimblett the next fight to make? Is it the biggest in the UFC’s lightweight division?
Sound off!
